Comment

Nov 25, 2015
I agree with the Guardian's review of this book. Morrison set the tone early but left so many things dangling. These devices promise to lend insight to the character's conflict but fail to do so as they are employed in the novel. In my opinion. I am a huge fan of the way Morrison as an American writer uses the fantastic, mystical and implausible. She weaves in these elements firmly rooting and orienting the drive of her storytelling. She did this so well in her previous novels from "Sula" and "Song of Solomon" to "Beloved". I guess I was expecting the same here. I am such a fan that I can let Toni M. be Toni in new and different ways. Perhaps "God Help the Child" represents a stage of her metamorphosis. She has never seemed to be afraid of tackling disturbing themes of a sexual nature and is at her finest when writing the internal conflicts of strong women. Her pen reveals, leaves, somuch for contemplation as you read the work. However, as a reader I recognize that a large part of the experience, the interaction while engaged, is what the reader brings to the material as it filters through one's consciousness. The book undergoes its final edit in the mind of the reader. This is fine if there is enough plausible material presented. Disharmony, loose ends, uneven writing. A more interesting tale to be told is in answer to the question, "Why DID you write this book?"